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Monday, June 29, 2009

Minister liable for teen's rape by cop

Say it with a sting.....

Fatima Schroeder

June 29 2009 at 11:07AM

The Cape High Court has ruled that the Minister of Safety and Security is vicariously liable for the damages suffered by a 24-year-old woman who was assaulted and raped by a police detective when she was 13, after he offered her a lift home from a nightclub.

At the time he committed the crimes, the detective already had previous convictions for assault, assault with the intent to commit grievous bodily harm, and the negligent discharge of a firearm while under the influence of alcohol.

In a judgment handed down on Friday, Judge Lee Bozalek found that the minister should not have allowed him to continue to work as a detective in light of his previous offences.

In addition, the judge ruled that, even though the detective was off duty, his employer could have called upon him at any time to attend a crime scene or report for duty.

'He had been a police officer for 10 years' The detective, Allister van Wyk, has been convicted of the charges and was sentenced to 12 years in prison, five years of which were suspended.

He is no longer employed as a police officer.

At the time of the incident, in October 1998, Van Wyk held the rank of sergeant. He had been a police officer for 10 years.

According to court papers, the complainant was at a nightclub with her friends when they became embroiled in an argument during the early hours of the morning.

She decided that she wanted to go home and Van Wyk, who was on standby at the time, offered her a lift in his unmarked police vehicle, a white Nissan Sentra.

There were several police dockets in the vehicle, which bore his name and rank, and his police radio was also visible.

Van Wyk later assaulted the teenage girl and raped her.

When he finally dropped her at home, he threatened that she would be harmed or killed if she told anyone about the rape.

But the girl told her mother, and laid criminal charges the following morning.

The complainant also instituted a civil action for damages against the minister of safety and security and Van Wyk, in which she alleged that the minister was vicariously liable for the damages she had suffered as a result of the rape.

Van Wyk did not defend the action but testified on behalf of the minister, who denied that Van Wyk had committed the act in the course and scope of his employment.

But Judge Bozalek said he accepted the complainant's version that she observed that Van Wyk was a police officer.

He said the question before the court was whether there was a sufficiently close link between Van Wyk's conduct and his employer's business.

The minister's lawyers submitted that Van Wyk had used his police vehicle unlawfully and was not on duty that night.

However, Judge Bozalek said this submission lost sight of the fact that being on duty was not necessarily a requirement for a finding of vicarious liability.

He said Van Wyk's employer could at any time have called upon him to attend a crime scene.

In addition, Judge Bozalek said that, without the use of his police vehicle, Van Wyk would not have been able to abduct the complainant and take her to a plot where he could rape her.

He added that his conclusion was strengthened by the fact that Van Wyk was allowed to work as a detective despite his criminal record.

He ruled that the minister and Van Wyk were liable for the complainant's damages, and ordered them to pay her costs.

The case has to return to court for the complainant to prove the amount of damages.

This article was originally published on page 6 of Cape Argus on June 29, 2009

IOL News

Comments by Sonny

The same rules should be laid down for police reservists. Most of them believe that

they are "policemen" 24/7.

Most of them don't believe that they are only auxiliary 'policemen' after they are

booked on duty in an official Occurance Book or SAPS 15 and OB.

We will not go into the possession of SAPS property here!

No wonder the ANC Government want to change the Constitution so that they are not

Avusa weathers the storm

Say it with a sting.....

Adele Shevel

Published:Jun 13, 2009

AVUSA, the media and entertainment group that owns the Sunday Times, Sowetan and Daily Dispatch, said on Friday that headline earnings for the year ended March were expected to be between 235c and 245c a share.

Avusa’s results are scheduled to be released on or around June 25.

“Last year’s continuing headline earnings a share was about 290c, so it will be about 16% down on last year,” said a media analyst, who declined to be named.

“The newspapers, especially the Sunday Times, are probably doing the best of the lot within the group, but others would be struggling.”

He said the media segment would probably perform better than the rest of the group, even though it has been hit by declining advertising.

Earnings have probably been helped by lower costs, especially in terms of renegotiated printing contracts, when Avusa moved printing to Naspers from Caxton last year, he said.

“This would have been worth tens of millions of rands in terms of savings.”

He added that the results, though behind consensus, would be “pretty good” in this environment.

The calculation of the current period’s attributable earnings a share includes a profit of R62-million realised on the sale of Avusa’s Nigerian and Kenyan interests.

A fund manager said the market would be looking to see whether the group had optimised printing arrangements in light of uncertainty about its relationship with the cash-strapped printing joint venture with the Independent Group. Independent has not been reinvesting in its printing presses and the market will look for clarity on Avusa’s relationship with that group going forward.

“They (Independent News & Media Group) are in the wars and have to reach a compromise with bondholders,” said the fund manager, referring to the embattled European empire founded by Irish tycoon Tony O’ Reilly, the parent company of the Independent News & Media Group South Africa.

ANC member killed, another wounded in KZN

An ANC member was shot and killed and another wounded in an attack in Nongoma, KwaZulu-Natal, in the early hours of Tuesday, the party said.

It said Ntombi Busisiwe Simelane, a teacher at Nhlanhlayethu High School, was killed in her home.

"Another comrade, Bafanyana Seme, is in a critical condition at the St Benedictine Hospital in Nongoma after being shot during the attacks," the African National Congress in KwaZulu-Natal said in a statement.

The party said it was told that the homes of three ANC members were attacked in the early hours of the morning.

"The assailants first attacked the Simelane home where they killed Comrade Ntombi Busisiwe Simelane. Police found nine cartridges from a pump gun and one AK-47 cartridge at her home," the ANC said.

"The assailants are then said to have moved to KwaHemende where they attacked the Mncube family who all survived the attacks miraculously."

They then moved to KwaSeme where the Seme family was attacked, resulting in the injury of Bafanyana Seme, the ANC said.

The ANC said the attacks come just a day after the killing of another ANC member, uMzinyathi councillor Tony Malunga who was shot and killed in Greytown.

"We are now convinced that our members are under attack from unscrupulous individuals who are not pleased with the inroads the ANC has made in areas considered as former 'no go areas' in KwaZulu-Natal," the party said. - Sapa

'Stop fleecing, start policing!'

A group of ex-policemen and angry motorists are taking on the Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) over mobile traffic cameras because they claim they are illegally fining drivers.

"Ban the cam! Stop fleecing, start policing!" reads the bright yellow bumper stickers handed out by two groups leading the charge towards banning the cameras: the Scrutiny of Inequitable Traffic Enforcement (Site) and the Justice Project South Africa (JPSA).

"The JMPD, I'm afraid, is out of control and they need to be reeled in," Howard Dembovsky, of the JPSA, said on Monday. "These cameras are weapons of mass prosecution."

'These cameras are weapons of mass prosecution' The group complains that the JMPD sets up cameras in locations where they have not received proper authorisation. In addition, they claim that poorly trained officers can "slip" while operating the sensitive laser cameras and cause a misreading of more than 40km/h.

Also, the group says it is often impossible to tell who is driving the cars because the photos are of poor resolution or taken of the rear of the car.

Mike Tanski, chairman of Site, said notifications are often mailed out more than a month after the offence, when it is too late to mount evidence for a defence.

"The constitution says that if you are accused of an offence, you can gather evidence for your defence, but you don't get the chance to do that if the notifications are given one month later," he said.

Tanski said that since Site was founded in 2000, they have received thousands of complaints from motorists.

'Your constitutional rights are being stomped on' Site and JPSA recently launched a new website - www.greedfines.co.za - to solicit more complaints from motorists and offer help.

Once they raise enough money, Tanski and Dembovsky plan on taking their complaints all the way to the Constitutional Court.

Last year, thousands of speeding fines were cancelled after it was discovered that they were issued in unauthorised locations.

JMPD spokesman Wayne Minnaar said since then, officers have been very careful about where they set up the cameras.

Dembovsky said the JPSA is not advocating speeding, but proper enforcement. He suggested that instead of mobile cameras, the JMPD should install more accurate stationary cameras that are painted bright colours.

"If the stationary cameras were bright yellow and erected every 2km, no one would speed."

Dembovsky is ready for a confrontation. Armed with a stack of complaints and photos, he said his ultimate goal is to disband the JMPD.

"Motorists are being fleeced of their money by fraudulent means," he said.

"Your constitutional rights are being stomped on."

This article was originally published on page 3 of The Star on June 09, 2009

The Star

IOL News

Comments by Sonny

According to the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 'Entrapment" is

illegal.

Most of the traps set up by traffic departments are illegal and if we do not oppose

Jobs drive to cost $1,2-billion

South Africa's drive to create millions of job opportunities will cost R10-billion over the next three years, Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies said on Tuesday.

President Jacob Zuma is under pressure from trade union allies, who helped to secure his presidency in April, to protect workers as Africa's biggest economy in its first recession in 17 years.

"The presidency will be leading a special national jobs initiative, in which a range of new and revamped programmes will be launched to the estimated value of R10-billion over the three year medium-term expenditure framework," Davies said in a speech.

Additional funding would be identified to increase the impact of the jobs initiative, as the country tried to create about 500 000 job opportunities by December, he said.

Zuma said in his maiden State of the Nation speech last week that the government would create half a million opportunities this year through an expanded public works programme, and four million, mostly temporary, jobs by 2014.

The global crisis has hit South Africa's manufacturing and mining sectors hard. The official jobless rate is 23,5%.

Tempering expectationsTempering expectations, Zuma on June 4 made clear there were limits to what the government could do.

"Since the implementation of our programme will take place in the face of the economic downturn, we will have to act prudently -- no wastage, no rollovers of funds -- every cent must be spent wisely and fruitfully," said Zuma.

"The economic downturn will affect the pace at which our country is able to address the social and economic challenges it faces. But it will not alter the direction of our development."

"If you are listening to what he is saying, it outlines how difficult the task facing this government is. How extremely limited their room for manoeuvre is," said independent analyst Nic Borain. - Reuters

Mail & Guardian

Comments by Sonny

Nothing comes without a "fat" price tag!

The government should start by redeploying the victims of job-losses and then